Scrutinize Plans for an Oceanfront Lot

An underground propane tank and a series of variance requests for an oceanfront lot on Further Lane owned by Michael Fisch, the founder and chief executive of American Securities, kept the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals busy on Friday.

The 3.4-acre parcel at 174 Further Lane, where Mr. Fisch has demolished a house and is building a new one, once held a house owned by the broadcaster Roone Arledge and, before that, by the torch singer Libby Holman. Mr. Fisch also owns the lots to the east and west, at 176 Further Lane and 29 Spaeth Lane and, according to real estate sources, paid more than $86 million for all three. 

He is now seeking variances to maintain the tank, which was installed last year closer to the rear-yard lot line than the village code allows, as well as variances to construct stairs, landscape features, and walls inside side-yard setbacks. In addition, he wants to expand walls, place stones, do grading and landscaping, and establish a lawn within the required 25-foot setback from the 20-foot contour line of the ocean dune.

Jonathan Tarbet, an attorney representing the applicant, said the tank had to be sited in the noncompliant location due to geothermal wells on the property, and because of a drip line from a cherry tree the applicant hopes to preserve. “It’s important to preserving the tree to not locate it close to the drip line,” the outermost circumference of its canopy, he said.

Frank Newbold, the board chairman, said that in an original application the tank was shown as 40.4 feet from the nearest neighbor, who had “submitted a strong letter of objection.” The code requires a 50-foot setback. “In the current application, you’ve actually moved the tank two feet closer to his property line.” That, Mr. Tarbet said, was because the tank must be 10 feet from any structure, in this case, Mr. Fisch’s garage.

Propane tanks are regulated by the state, Mr. Tarbet said, arguing that the village cannot be more restrictive. But Ken Collum, the village code enforcement officer, said such tanks are regulated as structures. He said an application for a building permit did not show a propane tank but that a later application added a generator and showed tanks in a noncompliant location.

“The applicant was informed they did not meet setbacks and he needed to move them,” Mr. Collum said. “They moved them and installed them without a permit” beyond the 10-foot setback from a structure but encroaching farther into the rear-yard setback. Given the property’s size, “I’m sure that you could find a conforming location,” Mr. Collum said.

Mr. Tarbet submitted a memorandum in support of his contention that no variance was needed for the propane tank, which Linda Riley, the village’s attorney, said she would examine. The discussion was tabled pending her report.

The board takes a particularly close look at applications affecting environmentally sensitive areas such as dunes. With respect to the structures within the 20-foot contour line setback, Mr. Newbold said the board would ask Rob Herrmann, the village’s environmental consultant, to review the plans. “We’re not objecting,” he said. “We’re just asking for more information so we fully understand it.”  The hearing was left open and will be on the board’s July 22 agenda.

The board also granted Ronald Perelman, the investor and philanthropist, wetlands permits to allow the removal of phragmites by hand-cutting and digging at his estate, the Creeks. Each permit expires after one year unless a subsequent application is submitted. Calvin Klein, the fashion designer, also received a wetlands permit for removal of phragmites at 75 West End Road. He was also granted a variance to allow a deck to remain within a side-yard setback.

In one other matter on Friday, the board overturned a building inspector’s decision that a certificate of occupancy could not be issued for a structure owned by Alfred Ross at 38 Cove Hollow Road. The inspector had said the structure, a garage, had been illegally converted to contain a bedroom. Mr. Ross, however, submitted 16 affidavits supporting his contention that the building was on what had been Cove Hollow Farm before World War II and had always had a bedroom and bathroom. The board found that the bedroom and bath were a legal nonconforming use.